NYC Plans for More Protected Bike Lanes in 2016

New York City is back at it again with the protected bike lanes. After the 2015 campaign which saw the Big Apple lay down more protected bike lanes than any previous year, the city that never sleeps plans on breaking that record in 2016.

While 2015 saw bike lanes laid majorly in Queens and Brooklyn, 2016’s plans have more targets in Manhattan East and West including 1st, 2nd, 6th and Amsterdam Avenues to name a few. The city is planning to hit the streets with 17.6 miles of protected bike lanes in 2016 with 2.5 miles of construction already in progress. Columbus Avenue to Pulaski Bridge, the Department of Transportation is looking to crush the 12.4 miles it created in 2015 which included 3.3 miles along Vernon Boulevard in Queens and 2.7 miles down Queens Boulevard.

Credited with bringing modern protected bike lanes to the U.S., the city’s been fighting the good fight amid naysayers and detractors who insisted that reinforcing and revamping bike infrastructure would have detrimental effects on the city’s transportation which was running like a well oiled machine before the pro-bike initiative. Bike haters insisted the loss of parking and bike traffic would hurt business and confuse traffic.

Not surprisingly, encouraging cycling and improving low cost infrastructure did not cause the havoc the pessimists predicted. The parking spaces sacrificed for the new bike lanes did not come back from the dead to haunt retailers or commercial venues as parking remains available and no less according to demand than before. Those who want a car (and can afford one) can still ride in style while those who don’t have a safer and more efficient alternative way to get around.

But don’t take my word for it – feel free to peruse this extensive literature outlining the numerous streets set to receive biking upgrades throughout the five Boroughs.

About the Author

Kyle Park Points is a working father in New York City by way of Sarasota, Florida. He is a public transportation enthusiast, clean air advocate, lifetime recycler and frequent panderer. He also reluctantly tended to his family's compost heap for many formative years. He hopes to one day leave his daughter with a safer, healthier environment than when she was born - which shouldn't be hard since she was born in Queens, New York.

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